Cover for beaded cylindrical beverage container



Sept. 8, 1970 L. M. KLEIN 3,527,375

COVER FOR BEADED CYLINDRICAL BEVERAGE CONTAINER Filed 061:. 20, 1969 7'0MEX United States Patent 3,527,375 COVER FOR BEADED CYLINDRICAL BEVERAGECONTAINER Louis M. Klein, 22 Park Place, Great Neck, NY. 10020 FiledOct. 20, 1969, Ser. No. 867,608 Int. Cl. B65d 41/00 US. Cl. 220-42Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cover of plastic material forcylindrical beverage cans from which part of the contents have beenremoved which comprises a hood-shaped member of truncated cone formhaving a tapered skirt and end wall to receive the open end of the canin generally co-axial relation within the hood, and with the taperedskirt wall being adapted to guide the leading edge of the open can endin co-axial relation to a position of nesting at a yieldable seat at thezone of juncture of the skirt and hood end wall, the seat being sized toyieldingly expand on insertion of the can and to sealingly engage theouter cylindrical surface of the can about the open end.

As is perhaps well known, beer and carbonated beverages are stored incans which have an end wall which is adapted to be punctured to providea pouring opening for the contents. However, quite often only part ofthe contents are used at one time and it is desirable, therefore, tostore the remaining contents in the can. In the past this has resultedin a loss of the carbonation by reason of the escape of gas through thepouring opening and, additionally, in a loss of taste flavor andfragrance and with the result that many people discard the contentsresulting in waste.

The present invention has as an object the provision of a cover for suchcontainers to prevent the escape of gas from the contents and which isadapted to be manufactured from conventional plastic materials.

It is another object of this invention to provide a cover for beveragecans which is sized to fit most of the standard sized metal cans now inuse without modification.

It is another object of this invention to provide a cover for beveragecans for use in sealing the open end of the can after part of thecontents have been removed so that they do not become flat.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved cover forbeverage containers of the can type which includes a cone-shaped skirtportion with the smaller end being spanned by a dome-shaped cover andwhich includes a seat at the zone of juncture of the dome-shaped endwall and the skirt to dilate and receive the beaded end of the can oncoaxial movement of it into the cover, so that on escape of gas from thecontainer through the open end of the can after removal of some of thecontents, the resulting increase in pressure will tend to expand thedome-shaped end Wall to contract the seat into tight circumscribedrelation about the beaded end of the can.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved slip typeskirt cover sized to nest over the end of a conventional beaded beveragecan, after it has been opened to pour some of the contents from the canand which is for the purpose of covering the remaining contents in agenerally sealed condition in the can even though it has been opened,which cover is adapted to substantially prevent the influx and efilux ofgas and includes a seat to snugly receive the end of the cancharacterized by a resilient dilatable zone at 3,527,375 Patented Sept.8, 1970 Ice the juncture of the skirt and the can covering end wall ofthe cover, so that escape of gas from the contents tends to inflate theend wall bulging it outwardly with respect to the zone of juncture andaway from the plane of the open end of the can, and by this actiontending to contract the zone of contact of the cover and the can to gripthe end of the can and thereby effect a substantially hermetic seal.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional beverage can incombination with the instant cover;

FIG. 2 is a view in cross-section of the cover and illustrating the samein position over the open end of the beverage container;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view partly in cross section illustrating themating of the can and cover;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in cross section of the zone of juncture ofthe can at the upper end and the cover;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4 and illustrating analternative embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 and also illustrating a secondalternative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is another view similar to that of FIG. 4 and illustrating athird alternative embodiment;

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference char acters designatelike or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and referringparticularly to FIG. 1, the numeral 12 generally designates acylindrical, circular can of the type conventionally employed to storebeer, carbonated beverages or the like and which includes a top wall anda bottom Wall, the top wall being adapted to be punctured to pour thecontents for serving. The top wall is bounded by a rim or bead 14 whichin a conventional can type container is uniform and extends outwardlyslightly from the surface of the can wall.

With further reference to the drawings, it is seen that the cover ineach of the several embodiments comprises a symmetrical cup-shaped orhood-shaped cover of truncated cone form having a flared skirt portion18 defining the truncated conical configuration and an end wall portion20 spanning the narrowed or truncated end of the cover and beingconnected to the skirt at a circumferential zone 22 which, as will beexplained, comprises a sealing seat.

The cover is of yieldable resilient plastic material preferably and thediameter of the circumferential zone 22 is, in its normal state orconfiguration, slightly less than the diameter of that of the head 14and of a material such that within its elastic limit it is radiallydilatable or expendable to slightly greater than the diameter of thebead 14 of the conventional, commonly used beverage can.

Thus, it is seen that the cover is adapted to mate with and to receivethe end ortion 24 of the can in enshrouded relation, as seen in FIG. 2,such that when the can end portion is in co-axial relation with thecover, the radially expanded circumferential zone 22 of the sealing seatsnugly engages the outer bead surface 14 and hermetically seals thisrelatively rigid, bead rein-forced end of the can with the end wall 20spanning and overlaying the punctured pouring end of a can from whichsome of the contents have been removed.

Initially, it is seen, the spring type energy of the plastic materialabout the zone 22 will hold the seat in the biased sealing conditionwith the forces resulting from the deformation of the plastic materialtending to restore itself to its normal configuration and therebysupplying holding forces. As is well known, many beverages arecarbonated and tend to expel conventional can covers by an axialdirected force which results from a 3 pressure buildup of released gasesinto the expansion chamber 21 between the end wall 20 and the open canend. It is a significant function of this invention that, because of theconfiguration, any such buildup of pressure will uniformly bulge theyieldable resilient material of the end wall portion into a dome-shaped,substantially more dome shaped than that shown in the cross section viewof FIGS. 2 and 3 for instance. In so reacting, however, the zone 22 Willtend to more tightly and uniformly sealingly grip the bead 14, thusadjusting the seal in situ in response to any buildup of the pressurewithin the chamber 21. In the preferred embodiment, the end wall 20 isslightly dome-shaped in its normal state to establish the direction ofbulging away from the open can end and to insure that the seat 22 is atits mini-mum diameter when in the normal condition and on initialbuildup of pressure the seal tightens with the expansion of the chamber21 as the end portion bulges further outwardly.

It is also seen that, as the can and cover are mated in relativeco-axial movement of one with respect to the other, the somewhat taperedskirt will act as guide means for the advancement of the beaded can endin substantial co-axial relation with the cover. Also, this conicalconfiguration provides an annular space 26, see FIG. 2, between the canwall 28 and the open end 30 of the skirt. This space provides a grip forthe distal end of the fingers of a user whereby the skirt is adapted tobe flexed outwardly and upwardly toward the covered end to break theseal so that the cover may 'be removed from the can. This lever means isof substantial help to elderly users who are quite often relatively weakand quite often do not drink a full can of a beverage but, nevertheless,desire to store the remaining contents without loss of taste, flavor orcarbonation. In the preferred embodiment, the terminal end 32 of theskirt is headed and relieved as at 34 to slightly enlarge the annularfinger space 26 to about thickness. The skirt is of an axial lengthpreferably of about at least one to two inches, so as to provide asufiicient length lever type grip area after the finger ends of a userhave been inserted into the space 26.

Preferably, at the zone 22 an annular recess 36 is formed to positivelydefine a seat nesting the head 14 of the can. Also, the end wall 20 ofthe cover in the preferred embodiment is provided with a yieldable linermeans or pad 38, preferably of rubbery material providing one side ofthe seat and against which the bead of the can nestles when the can andcover are mated, for the purpose of combining with the recess to providea positive yieldable seat means in the cover. The seat liner means 38 orpad may span the end wall of the cover as shown in the preferredembodiment.

For the purpose of brevity in this specification, the correspondingparts of the alternative embodiments of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are similarlynumbered, it being suflicient to point out at this point that theoutside of the cover at the zone 22 in the embodiment of FIG. isprovided with a tapered annular gripping means 40 comprising asupplemental short lever for use in holding the can and cover as theseal is broken by flexing the skirt or peeling the terminal portion ofthe skirt outwardly. The gripping means 40 for this purpose preferablyincludes a shoulder area 42 of positive configuration, that is, onewhich extends substantially radially outwardly from the conical taperedskirt surface and a tapered edge 44 leading to the end wall surface 20,which in this embodiment is not provided with but a minimum degree ofinitial bias into a dome-shaped configuration. Also, in the embodimentof FIG. 5, a thin coating of friction resistant material 46, which maybe the commercially available material known as Teflon may be providedfor ease of mating of the cover and can. The embodiment of FIGS. 6 and7, it is seen, are each provided with an end wall portion or crown inwhich the dome is not of a fair curve outer surface as seen in elevationbut, rather, is provided with an enlarged expansion chamber 21. The endwall portion of the cover in these two embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7includes a cylindrical portion 50 and an end face portion 52. FIG. 7differs from FIG. 6 in that there is provided in FIG. 6 a liner means 38in integral relation with the end wall portion and in abutting relationto the can. In FIG. 7 the liner means is employed to advantage and theexpansion chamber 21 is divided into two portions, an upper portion anda lower portion, the latter being responsive to the expansion of gasesand the liner means or pad 38 completely spanning the skirt and beingyieldable to extend into the chamber.

I claim:

1. For use in combination with a can having a cylindrical wall ofcircular cross section and an open end with a pouring opening and aclosed end and with a uniform bead at the juncture of the can wall andthe open end which extends slightly outwardly of the can surface, saidcan being of the type conventionally employed for the storage ofcarbonated beverages or beer,

a cover for the open end of the can comprising,

a cup-shaped cover including a flared skirt of truncated conicalconfiguration, which is open at the enlarged end defining a canreceiving mouth, and

an end wall spanning the truncated end of the cover and defining a zoneof juncture of the skirt and the end wall comprising a seat within thecover for the beaded end of the can,

said seat being of a normal diameter which is slightly less than thediameter of the outer surface of the bead, and substantially the same asthe diameter of the outer surface of the head when the can is inco-axial relation within said cover and the bead of said can is inabutting relation with said end wall, said seat being adapted to receiveand to nest said head with said cover in sealing relation over said openend, and

said seat including a sealing surface of dilatable material to expand onforceable axial movement of the open beaded end can into the cover to apoint of engagement of said beaded end and said seat, so that thepressure of the gas from the inside of the can passing through theopening tends to expand the space between the open end of the can andthe end wall of the cover and uniformly contract the seat into tightcircumscribed relation against the head to eifect a substantiallyhermetic seal.

2. The cover as set forth in claim 1 wherein the inside diameter of themouth of the cover is larger than the outer diameter of the beaded endof the cup-shaped memher when the member and cover are in coaxialrelation and the conical surface of the skirt acts as a wedge type guideon advancing coaxial mating movement of the can cover to seat the beadedend.

3. The cover, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the skirt and wall are ofyieldable resilient plastic material.

4. The cover as set forth in claim 1, wherein the normal configurationof the end wall is dome-shaped with the crown extending axially awayfrom said skirt.

5. The cover as set forth in claim 1, wherein the terminal end of theskirt is headed.

6. The cover as set forth in claim 5, wherein the diameter of theterminal end of the skirt is greater than the diameter of said seat sothat when the cover is mated over the open end of a beaded can, there isdefined an annular space for gripping by the distal ends of the fingersof a user, the annular space being of a thickness of about inch and theaxial length being in the order of about 1 /2 inches.

7. The cover as set forth in claim 1, wherein the zone of juncture ofthe skirt and end wall is recessed upwardly to nestle the end of the canand to receive the beaded end of such can therein.

8. The cover as set forth in claim 7, wherein liner pad means areprovided on the end wall and extend into said recess defining one sideof said seat.

9. The cover as set forth in claim 1 wherein the inner 5 surface of theskirt is of friction-resistant material of the class which concludes thecommercially available material known as Teflon.

10. The cover as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end wall includes agenerally cylindrical, and axially extend- 5 ing sidewall terminating atsaid zone of juncture at a shoulder comprising stop means limiting axialmovement of the beaded end of a can being mated with said cover and saidshoulder comprises one side of said seat.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,630,237 3/1953 Rosenhop.3,372,832 3/1968 Ycater et a1. 220-60 XR GEORGE T. HALL, PrimaryExaminer U.S. Cl. X.R.

